The once-powerful tropical storm Sara may have dissipated in the Gulf of Mexico, but forecasters have warned that its remnants still threaten Florida.
Meteorologists revealed Monday that the system, now a tropical rainstorm, could reach the Sunshine State by 9am ET Wednesday, bringing up to 60-mile-per-hour winds and 12 inches of rain.
AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSalvia said: ‘It is important to note that there will be a dangerous rip current risk along the Gulf Coast from Monday through Wednesday as a result of the tropical rainstorm.’
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Sara officially dissipated at 3am ET on Monday, saying it was no longer a threat as it moves into the Gulf.
AccuWeather, which has been monitoring Sara for more than a week, explained that there is the potential for isolated tornadoes to form and a coastal flood advisory is in effect in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa coastal counties until 6am ET Tuesday.
Sara was upgraded to a tropical storm last week when it brought life-threatening flooding and mudslides to parts of Honduras which saw up to 40 inches of rain in some areas.
The storm slowed down as it crossed Belize and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday, losing some of its wind intensity and was downgraded to a tropical depression -a tropical cyclone with winds of 38 miles per hour mph or less.
The storm is expected to reach Florida by early Wednesday and bring at least two to four inches of rain to the area. Pictured: a satellite image of the impending storm as it approaches the Florida panhandle
Sara developed into a tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea last week and brought 40 inches of rain to Honduras. The storm slowed as it crossed Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula and was downgraded to a tropical depression
The NHC reported that ‘satellite images and surface observations indicate that Sara no longer has a well-organized circulation, and therefore has degenerated into a trough of low pressure.’
Despite this, AccuWeather has labeled Sara a tropical rainstorm and said at least two to four inches of rain will extend from eastern Louisiana to the Florida panhandle.
‘Some of Sara’s tropical moisture will be lifted northeastward over the Gulf,’ Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist told USA Today.
‘That extra moisture can be enough to lead to flooding downpours and perhaps severe thunderstorms in Florida toward the middle of this week.’
Sara will merge with the cold front in the Gulf of Mexico before moving east toward Florida on Wednesday.
‘All of that associated moisture that’s very rich and tropical is expected to surge northward and interact with this front that’s supposed to move across the lower Mississippi Valley,’ Israel Gonzalez, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee told the Tallahassee Democrat.
‘So the combination of those two features are going to really ramp up our rain chances for the Tallahassee area.’
The National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Sara had dissipated as of 3am on Monday, but AccuWeather warned that Florida could see heavy rainfall and flooding from the remnants of the storm
AccuWeather meteorologists warned that areas along the Gulf Coast could experience heavy rainfall up to 12 inches
The wind speeds could reach 40 to 60 miles per hour, causing tornadoes to develop in Florida and creating dangerous rip currents along the Gulf Coast
The Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic has been a hotspot for tropical storm and hurricane development this season due to its warmer-than-average temperatures that extends 300 to 400 feet below the ocean’s surface.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an average hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
However, the agency did predict earlier this year that there would be an ‘above average’ number of storms.
Sara is the 18th named storm of the 2024 hurricane season and is the third named this month due to record-breaking warm waters in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
Although there is always the possibility that a tropical or subtropical storm could form in the Atlantic Ocean through early December, DaSilva said it’s unlikely they will impact the US for the remainder of the year.
